Section 16.54.170 of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) states that every dog brought into Washington must have“a certificate of veterinary inspection” which “must identify each animal and certify that each animal at the time of entry is current on rabies vaccination according to the manufacturer’s label, and does not originate from an area under quarantine for rabies.”

In addition, dogs six months of age and older “must be tested negative for heartworm or are currently on a heartworm preventative.”

Family pets and puppies under 90 days old are exempt.

The law also says that veterinarians that examine dogs coming to Washington must send a copy of the health certificate to WSDA within 7 days of the examination.

WSDA Communications Director Hector Castro told me that “a valid health certificate ensures that a dog being transported into Washington state has been examined by a veterinarian as required, received tests for the diseases of concern, and been properly vaccinated. When any person or organization brings a dog into our state without this paperwork, it is cause for concern and poses a risk to both pets and people across the state.”

This is a health certificate for dogs brought into Washington from California by SW Washington Humane Society. Image from WA Department of Agriculture.

I submitted a public records request to WSDA for copies of every certificate of veterinary inspection it received for dogs brought into Washington last year. These documents showed that dog rescues officially brought more than 730 dogs in Washington in 2016.

Here are the rescues that brought in those dogs, their location, and the number of dogs they imported:

Human Society for SW Washington

Washougal

316

SpokAnimal

Spokane

135

Rompin Paws Rescue

Shoreline

59

PAWS

Lynnwood

45

Georgia Peaches Puppy Rescue

Seattle

41

11th Hour Animal Rescue

Issaquah

29

Bravepup

Shoreline

19

Seattle Humane Society

Bellevue

18

Forever Homes Rescue

Mountlake Terrace

8

South Pacific Humane

Long Beach

6

Another Chance Rescue

Silverlake

6

Natalie Smith

Silverdale

4

Seattle Animal Shelter

Seattle

3

NW Boxer Rescue

Woodinville

3

Western Aussie Rescue

Newport

2

Spokane Humane Society

Spokane

2

Welfare Animal Guild

Sequim

1

Tender Care Animal Rescue

Vancouver

1

Second Chance Companions

Battle Ground

1

Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

Redmond

1

Main St. Mutt Rescue

Bellingham

1

Lucky Paws Rescue

Rochester

1

Dogs of the Gorge

Goldendale

1

As I suspected, some dog rescues that import thousands of dogs a year to Washington are not listed because the WSDA had no health certificates for the dogs they brought here in 2016.

Here are some examples:

FUREVER HOMES – OLYMPIA

On its Facebook page, Furever Homes says it “specializes in finding you the perfect dog for your family from California and Mexico.”

And a vet at a Banfield clinic said Gold informed them that “she has a parvo outbreak and (the puppy) has a URI (Upper Respiratory Infection).” She also said she had seen many dogs from Furever Homes “and they all had a severe URI infection.”

These examples indicate either these dogs aren’t examined by a veterinarian before Furever Homes brings them to Washington or the vets that do check them aren’t doing comprehensive exams.

A Banfield veterinarian filed a report with Joint Animal Services in Thurston County saying she had seen many dogs adopted from Furever Homes and “they all have a severe URI infection.” At this time Furever Homes imported most of their dogs into Washington from California and Mexico.

Porter often drives to other states to bring dogs for adoption in Washington. Not surprisingly, WSDA has no record of any health certificates for any dogs brought to Washington by Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue.

This dog adopted from Rising Phoenix Mastiff Rescue had pneumonia and worms.

GINGER’S RESCUE – SEATTLE

The website for Ginger’s Rescue says the organization has found homes for 10,000 dogs since 2006. That’s approximately 1000 dogs a year. Ginger’s brings many of its dogs from out of state and overseas, but last year the WSDA had no health certificates for dogs the rescue brought to Washington.

I contacted Ginger’s to see if anyone knew why the WSDA didn’t have any health certificates for these dogs. The person who answered my message said, “Each dogs gets vaccinated and comes with a spay/neuter certificate, unless there is a reason they can not be altered before getting here. Then Ginger pays our local vet to do it.”

She noted that Ginger’s keeps all the health certificates for the dogs they bring here. She also told me the transport they use to bring dogs from California to Washington will not take dogs without health certificates.

I told the rescue that I wanted to check with their vet’s office in California to see if they knew they were required to send copies of health certificates for dogs coming to Washington to the WSDA. I spoke with a person familiar with process of sending dogs to Ginger’s and she had no idea her office was required to send copies of the health certificates for these dogs to the WSDA.

MAIN STREET MUTT RESCUE

The WSDA had one health certificate from Main Street Mutt Rescue (MSMR) for dogs it brought into Washginton last year. Like Ginger’s Rescue, MSMR claimed it didn’t know the vets that examine their dogs before transport were supposed to send copies of the health certificates to the WSDA.

MSMR told me all their dogs are examined by vets before coming to Washington and they have all of them on file.

These are just 4 examples where the WSDA did not get health certificates for dogs imported into Washington by rescues.

And some of the rescues on the list brought many more dogs than the records indicate. For example, SpokAnimal in Spokane told one of my contacts that they bring about 100 dogs a week into Washington, which is approximately 5200 a year; but WSDA’s records only had health certificates from SpokAnimal for 135 dogs.

Where are the other 5000+ health certificates for the dogs they brought into Washington?

I believe the WSDA is missing thousands of these health certificates for for two reasons:

Shady dog rescues don’t want to pay for the vet exams

Out-of-state veterinarians don’t know to send the WSDA copies of health certificates for the dogs coming into Washington they examine

This is not just an inconsequential bureaucratic error. While not every dog brought into Washington without a corresponding health certificate is sick, evidence shows that some rescues are bringing dogs here with serious, contagious, and life threatening diseases that should have been identified and treated before they were sent here.

Mr. Castro said that “enforcement of the rules is one response” to address this problem. He also noted that the WSDA “will also continue educating the public about this important requirement and use outlets like your website to share this information.”

Potential dog adopters should know that each dog brought into Washington by a rescue MUST have a health certificate that contains all the pertinent information that the WSDA requires.

If a rescue can’t provide one, then the dog is in the state illegally and could potentially have a contagious disease, so walk away and find a dog at another rescue.

Comments

Being from tender Care I will give them a call, we records of every animal from out of state, they all come with a health certificate( this includes pocket pets and felines as well as dogs, hw tested, appropriately vaccinated for age, to make sure they have records and if not give them the copy for the missing aniMal and have the vet send in a copy. Always make copies. Thanks for letting me know

Humane Society for Southwest Washington receives dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters within Washington state and from other areas of the country. Our transport partners are carefully selected, and are closely monitored to ensure that they comply with all state and federal regulations for animals entering the state. The primary requirements are:

• Each animal MUST have a U. S. Department of Agriculture health certificate, issued by a licensed veterinarian within 30 days of transport
• All animals must have a current rabies vaccination (if over 90 days of age)
• All dogs over 6 months of age must test negative for heartworm disease

The health certificate is to be signed by a veterinarian on behalf of the out of state shelter and then forwarded to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). However, it’s clear from the numbers reported that this isn’t happening on a consistent basis. Even though HSSW is in compliance with the relevant RCW and WAC’s governing animal transport into Washington, HSSW intends to forward copies of the completed certificates to the WSDA to ensure that each animal is accounted for and properly documented.

Hey there, curious where in the WAC it says the out of state vet must send certificates to Washington State department of Ag? This is the first I’ve heard of that, and we get certificates every transport? Is it under a different WAC? 🙂

It states a copy has to be sent within 7 days. That isn’t stating that the issuing vet has to send a copy. That means it should be up to the receiving end to submit copies. At least that is what it looks like to me. I am a transporter and I make sure all dogs have health certificates. Pretty interesting article though.

Thanks! I wrote this in my post: “The law also says that veterinarians that examine dogs coming to Washington must send a copy of the health certificate to WSDA within 7 days of the examination” so I hope I made it clear.

The State of Washington has no authority to compel an out of state vet to send such a certificate to THEM. The animal transports WITH THE CERTIFICATE IN POSSESSION. These are USDA Health Certificates for interstate transport. The importer is responsible.

WA has the right to enact tougher regulations than the federal govt requires. You’re right that they cannot force out of state vets to comply, but if they had the time and staff, the WSDA could ban dogs examine by a vet that doesn’t do it from coming into the state.

The WA Dept. of Ag. regulates Rabies vaccination. Therefore they get the paperwork. I’m a retired LVT, but I thought the travel certificate said to send to WSDA? There is a copy for the owner (transporter). So the vet would send it.

There are 3copies
One for shipper, one for receiver, and file copy for the certifying vet. So I call bullshit on this
Further, there is no requirement to forward in the statutehttps://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/interstate-pet-travel
Be sure you are not confusing livestock requirements , too
All USDA licensed transporters require an out of shelter ISO/boarding period and HC/Rabies/deworming and HW negative status before transport. Many also require sterilization for rescue transports completed no less than 14 days before travel

I wasn’t confusing it with livestock regulations. I spoke with a few people at the WSDA who said the examining vets were supposed to send them copies of the health certs. I will check to see if the regs are unclear about that.

I have a dog I adopted from Gingers but she was brought here by 6dogrees and she had her rabies certificate but there is nothing about a heartworm test, so now I have to pay for one plus the cost of sedation for them to even draw blood. She is a great dog though! Hopefully this gets straightened out.

Here’s some information that I’m concerned might skew these numbers in your “import chart” above. I’ve been fostering dogs for 10 yrs. here in WA and with only a handful of exceptions, nearly every dog I’ve fostered was brought up to WA from out-of-state and pulled from a city or county animal shelter. They only way this could happen was if the rescue was done through an “authorized puller” (i.e. animal rescue authorized by the facility to pull the animal).

So there are many, MANY more (smaller) rescue orgs than on the list that end up receiving and re-homing the dogs (via a larger “approved to pull” rescue organization such as Ginger’s Pet Rescue who pulls hundreds of dogs from shelters for smaller rescues) but, of course, those dogs still need a health certificate to accompany them when entering WA. Because the “puller” (rescue org) is not always the same rescue that actually RE-HOMES/adopts out the animal, it seems that paperwork can easily ‘fall through the cracks’ and be difficult to track. Often times, smaller rescues who are not on the “approved rescue” list for a shelter because they’re either not a registered non-profit or haven’t established credibility with the shelter agency must rely on the “approved pullers” to rescue dogs for them. Regardless, the health cert still must be obtained AND sent to the WSDA but I suspect that many of those smaller rescues don’t know this.

Every single dog I’ve ever fostered has come to me with a health cert and all of the proper documentation but I have no idea whether or not the rescue I was fostering through (or the rescue that actually PULLED the dog) sent the documentation to the WSDA. Wonder how this can be tracked when you’re dealing with multiple rescues handling an animal.

I *can* say with absolute certainty however that the particular dog transport service that has been used to bring my foster dogs to me will not – under any circumstances – bring a dog across WA state lines without the health certificate and *all* proper documentation. Great service they provide!

All dogs brought up to WA by Smidget Rescue have all the proper documentation. We will be happy to provide it. All adopters get the ORIGINAL Health Certificate upon adoption and we keep a copy. Feel free to ask any of our adopters for proof. That said, Smidget only brought a handful of dogs in from California in 2016 as we were slammed with local owner surrenders and local shelter dogs most of the year. I have calls into the vets we used last year to figure out why we didn’t have a few dogs on the list.

In 2016, Smidget Rescue did not import many CA dogs as we were slammed with local owner surrenders and local shelter transfers. The few that came in from CA had health certs and heart worm tests performed before they left California. The transporters we use REQUIRE these certificates as a condition of transport as it is WA law. Also, we give every adopter of a CA dog the original health certificate as part of the adoption packet and we keep a copy. Now, why our handful of 2016 imports do not show up on this list is an interesting question. It is our understanding that the veterinarian issuing the certificate is the entity required to submit the paperwork to the WSDA and we have left it in their hands to get it done.

As I noted, just because a group isn’t listed doesn’t mean they acted irresponsibly or tried to skirt the rules. Smidget Rescue did everything they were supposed to do. It is the vet’s responsibility to send a copy of the health cert to the WSDA. The next time the rescue brings dogs to WA they should remind the vet to do it.

Plenty of rescues bring dogs into WA legally. Others didn’t realize vets had to sent the certs to WSDA – an honest mistake. But some rescues don’t have their dogs examined by a vet and adopt them out as soon as they arrive. Many of these dogs were sick and it cost the adopters thousands of dollars in vet bills to treat them or the dogs end up dying anyway. Some of the sick dogs brought here infect the adopter’s other dogs as well. These are the groups that should be exposed. Just because a group says its a rescue doesn’t shield it from public scrutiny.

Your tirades against Sharon and Furever Homes are pathetic – and tiring. Anyone intimately involved in rescue who has taken the time to work with her knows she is a gem with few equals. You on the other hand, are the dark underbelly of rescue; the relentless hypocrites who seemingly have nothing better to do than put those down who are far more effective and caring about the process than you are.

My background: I’ve worked tirelessly for a breed-specific rescue for almost 20 years, and been an advocate and supporter of the breed almost twice that long. The organization shall remain nameless, as we don’t need harassment from the likes of you – something seen all too often in the world of rescue.

We’ve re-homed well over two thousand dogs in that time, garnering praise all over the country for our efforts, protocols and responsible placements. We’re recognized as the top rescue organization in the country from our US Breed club and work closely with several Canadian breed clubs as well. We have countless shelters who set aside the breed we represent every time they come in, given our expertise and the difficulty in placing them in proper homes. Our return rate for placed dogs is less than 1%. Our process is rigorous, to the point of garnering criticism from adopters who don’t meet our strict criteria. The breed we place requires unique homes and owners, and we take that responsibility seriously. And lastly – we work hand-in-hand with dozens of other rescues, sharing resources and assisting with dogs outside the geographic area we typically represent.

Yes, call the above a brag – but the point is, we know rescue, and know what the hell we’re doing.

When my elderly Washington parents needed a small dog – I looked around for weeks at the small local shelters near them, finding nothing appropriate. Not being familiar with WA rescues beyond the breed we represent, I started doing some research into all-breed rescues and private shelters. However, unlike many, I didn’t trust any online reviews. I picked up the phone and called organizations, knowing exactly what questions to ask to quickly ascertain the good from the bad.

Sharon impressed me like few others. Within minutes, it was clear she was dedicated and committed beyond most anyone I’ve encountered in rescue. She spends countless hours and untold energy saving thousands of dogs – and anyone thinking she’s making a buck at it, is seriously delusional. Her rehoming fees are minimal, barely enough to cover her costs. Yes, she places TONS of dogs – and with that quantity of placements come the inevitable issues. EVERY rescue has them. Point is, she saves more dogs from euthanasia than you could ever dream of helping.

And the thanks she gets? Non-stop harassment and unfounded criticism from the likes of you.

Being in dog rescue doesn’t automatically classify you as a saint. Sharon Gold and Furever Homes have a long, documented history of ignoring laws designed to protect animals. I have reports from several people who adopted sick dogs from her. She was just banned from animal control for threatening an officer. I stand by everything I’ve written about her and Furever Homes.

Actually cudos for you dogspot as your info with sharon gold Cruz tied to eldag Hager who dumped 100 dogs who is also tied to hope for paws ..brilliant work ..oh and the sad 19 poor dogs killed in dryer fire ..well I am convinced you Seattle dog spot you know what you are doing and if any rescue can’t cough up paperwork and proof of health certificates vet certified we will always have a problems ..in Alaska we have a pro dog show every year from top breeders of world but every one is well certified ..no flippers allowed ..if we even smell flippers they exit show refund and can go to flea markets craigslist and fake 501c ..but each time they are caught we are actually the peoples who are against fake 501c flippers and hoarders ..we really need a 4-h lock freeze before real 4-h completely destroyed plus new 501 c laws that benefit 4-h instead of destroy ..add a pile Of PETA on top of 4-h freeze lock ..seems 4-h has too much to hide each month yearly 25 years .also I live across from phony shepherds way horse and dog rescue ..springdale wa. They have ripped off so many westerns and others I can’t even remotely think anything less then a 4-h freeze lock USA ..as the PETA reports are so bad right now ..good work you peoples do if it wasn’t for you many more would be ripped off and we need to know when animals suffer as its way more humane to put down then suffer

I have checked into some of the rescues listed when I was looking for a rescue. The ones that are listed under not following the law were ones that when I requested information were reluctant to provide financials etc until I provided the WAC. I work with reputable rescues and have always been happy in the end

Apparently CADA has never sent records to WSDA – they tell you to call Washington Ag – WA Ag says to call CA Ag. a lot of finger pointing. If the health records are accurate for transport, that should suffice since neither bureaucracy wants to take responsibility. The writer of the article should do a little more homework I think.

It is the responsibility of the CA vet to send a copy of the cert to the WSDA. CA AG has no jurisdiction – it’s a WA requirement. Regardless of what your opinion is of the process, it is a state law in WA – whether or not people like it or think it’s useful is irrelevant.

Many of the ones in Western WA have space because the message to spay and neuter has resonated with the public. Many shelters have also instituted great fostering programs where dogs that need extra attention/socialization stay with volunteers until they are adopted. This gives the dogs a better chance of adoption and it frees up kennel space for other dogs. The areas with crowded shelters, like Eastern WA, aren’t bringing in dogs.

And to add to dog spots response, while many rescues and shelters are more than willing to take dogs from other areas in Washington to help more locally, the reality is that it’s hard to do. I won’t go into detail, but there are only a few rescues who are able to and do on a regular basis, and they have trusted volunteers who do the pickup and transport. And on top it’s because there aren’t enough people willing to adopt pit bulls, older dogs and even larger dogs. Shelters in California are so overcrowded with small breeds and puppie–and rescues are able to adopt them out quickly here. The other dark side of that is that there are rescues out there who only bring in highly adoptable dogs to bump their adoption numbers.

1. Who is bringing the 1000’s of dogs in illegally? If the rescue has the health certificate aren’t they still doing the right thing?

2. Is this a complete list of all rescues in Washington that bring dogs into the state from other areas? How did you pick the ones you listed?

3 You say in one line the Vet is responsible for filing this paperwork but no where do you say you inquired to any of the these clinics to find out if its as you stated that they are not aware. You stated several rescues themselves were not aware that was what should happen.

4. It would seem to me that you are throwing some rescues under the bus simply because the vets they use are not compliant.

I asked the WSDA specifically if it was illegal to bring dogs into WA without sending them a health certificate. They said it was, even if the WA rescue has a copy of it. I think the WSDA is more concerned about rescues bringing sick dogs into WA with no health check, but all rescues should ensure the examining vet sends them a copy.

I didn’t pick anyone for the list. I looked at all the health certs the WSDA had, and every rescue that had them sent to the WSDA as required is listed.

I wrote in the article that I contacted one of the CA vets and they didn’t know they were required to send a copy to WSDA. As I go through the comments I believe lots of CA vets don’t know about it.

I wrote in the article that one of the reasons the WSDA has so few certs is because the cA vets didn’t know they were required to do it. The only rescues I called out were the ones that don’t use vets and bring sick dogs here.

And while there are thousands of native born dogs being euthanized every day in American and Canadian shelters it makes total sense to ship them in from other countries then sell them to make money. NOT! They also send the to Canada for a price and because some feel they are “saving” them when the reality is many do not make it because of their issues. These are brokers not rescues.

I think ALL states require that Certs be sent to the receiving Dept of Ag; in NC, that Dept. of Ag, in turn sends ( or used to – I’ve retired ) copy to Health Dept/Animal Control in the county to which the animals were sent.

I for one am very glad to hear you are investigating the ‘Texan’ rescues; I have met a number of these dogs and am actually suspicious many are of not Texan but Mexican origin. I also saw a large shipment of these dogs taken straightt from transport directly into the Pet Expo; it was a group of 20+ dogs that had no business being there – I have never seen a group of more stressed out dogs in my entire life. It was something I will never forget and made me seriously question the entire industry. And the stories I hear the owners repeating of what they have been told about their dogs makes me even more suspicious. Good luck in getting to the bottom of all that.

Very interesting article, and I might say I am very surprised to see that Humane Society of Skagit Valley is not on that list, we are a receiving shelter and every animal that comes to us comes with a State Certified Certificate from a Licensed Veterinarian with all vaccines and tests required. I will not receive anything other than that. I have reached out to my resources, State Veterinarian for Washington State as well as Proper Agencies involved with these transports and we want to make sure we are not adding to any problems. For up until now have been very fortunate and thankful.

Thank you. You aren’t alone. Lots of reputable shelters and rescues didn’t know about this regulation, which is one reason I posted the article. You can let whomever examines your dogs before they come here to send a copy of the cert to WSDA:

If they fly it does. I believe that is a USDA regulation. Not a state reg. But if you are driving your own animal across a state line, with no point of entry check, they you probably don’t need a cert.

Yep you are correct we fly horses every year ..very expensive ones mostly dressage and jumpers ..they won’t even get on any jet without vet check or certificates and vet records they are grounded ..like a horse show same deal same as a real dog show

Yes I did ..seems Google says they are still valid ..which of course should be false ..how ever just in case they are still flipping dogs I wrote an email to the federal trade commission this time about a week ago that is if they are still 501 c at this point because according to Google they are

I’ve worked with a breed-specific rescue group for a number of year. In fact, our National club’s program was one of the first — if not the first — to be recognized by the AKC, and has served as a model for many other breed-specific rescue groups. Our group started its breed-specific rescue program in 1980, so anyone claiming to have worked with a breed-specific rescue group before that time needs to have their credentials very carefully checked.
Anyway, I know there are many so-called rescue groups that are doing it as a business, and not out of any real concern for animal welfare. Where I see any rescue group that brags about handling “1000’s” of dogs in a year, I can’t help but believe that something more than “concern for the dogs” is involved.
As far as USDA certification is concerned, the federal regulations are something of a joke. Under those regulations, dogs are classified along with other farm animals just as something to be raised for commercial distribution. To be sure, the regs do help, but given that there are very few USDA inspectors to cover the entire country, and that they are also responsible for inspecting operations such as feed lots, meat packing plants, and poultry farms. Hence the still large number of puppy mill operations still making profits in a number of states. The mass rescue operations are, in my opinion, just a step or two removed from puppy mill operations.
There are plenty of dogs in shelters throughout Washington state that truly need rescue, without importing dogs from other areas of the country.

I used to work for a vet in CA and we had a list of what every state required and it said copy of Health Certificate must be sent to state animal was going to and had the address to send it to.
Any vet office that claims they did not know is either lazy or unwilling to send them since they did not report the illnesses and could lose their liscence. They don’t want to lose a very lucrative client so they pretend they did not know.

THANK YOU. I appreciate your clarification. I just learned it is also federal law:

(1) The APHIS representative, State or Tribal representative, or accredited veterinarian issuing an ICVI or other document required for the interstate movement of animals under this part must forward a copy of the ICVI or other document to the State or Tribal animal health official of the State or Tribe of origin within 7 calendar days from the date on which the ICVI or other document is issued. The State or Tribal animal health official in the State or Tribe of origin must forward a copy of the ICVI or other document to the State or Tribal animal health official the State or Tribe of destination within 7 calendar days from date on which the ICVI or other document is received.